What Do We Do About Plastics?

In November of 2018, on a beach in Indonesia, the body of an adult sperm whalewashed ashore, precipitating a global conversation about the plastics crisis. Insidethe stomach of the whale, over a thousand unique pieces of plastic were found, including flip-flops, bags, bottles, and 115 plastic drinking cups.

While we’ve long recognized that use of single-use plastics was problematic, the scale of the whale’s contamination from our plastic waste shocked the conscience of people all around the world and has led to calls from many to address what many have wanted to avoid dealing with finally. What can we do about our use of plastics to protect the environment?

Shell’s recent success in the US Gulf of Mexico includes its deepwater Dover discovery on Mississippi Canyon 612, reported last year, near its Appomattox platform. The well was drilled by the Deepwater Poseidon ultra-deepwater drillship. Sources: Shell, Transocean.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)